This authentic traditional Russian Easter Bread – Kulich, is a deliciously soft melt-in your-mouth brioche bread full of plump Amaretto soaked Cranberries and sweet White Chocolate, then decorated with Royal Icing and Sprinkles. My goodness, it is so worth making!
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I started seeing these beautiful little “what I thought were cakes” on Pinterest, and I was so intrigued by them, but they had no info or name to what they were. So I kept looking until I FINALLY found the name of them, and lo and behold, they were Kulich.
What Exactly is Russian Easter Bread – Kulich?
Kulich is the Russian name for Easter bread. They are usually baked in a cylindrical tall round mold and then decorated on top with icing, flowers and sprinkles. They can be large or individual breads. The dough usually contains one or a mixture of things like rum soaked raisins, cranberries, dried apricots, candied fruits, etc.
There is actually a monastery recipe that calls for cognac, cardamom and tvorog which is Eastern European cottage cheese. It is often decorated with the letters XB, for Христосъ Воскресе which means: “Christ is risen”.
Kulich has an Amazing History!
Kulich has quite a wonderful history! In fact it is made in much of Eastern Europe, not only Russia. The more I read about it, the more interesting it became.
Traditionally after the Orthodox Easter church service, Kulich is decorated with flowers then put into a basket, and is blessed by the priest. If you would like to read more about Kulich, check out this wonderful article I found on 196 Flavors!
I decided I needed these in my life! I really wanted to experience true Kulich! I wanted to taste it, so I started trying to find a recipe.
I Need a Kulich Recipe!
When I started looking, I really wasn’t sure which recipes were authentic Russian Kulich. I saw a lot that were in English, but a lot of bakers said they put their own twist on it. Even though the authentic recipe allows for a bit of customizing, I wanted the real thing, so I found a recipe on a Russian online baking store called “A Taste Of Creativity“. Only problem, it was in the Slavic language, and I had NO IDEA what it was saying!
Google Translate to the Rescue!
Sooooo, I sat down with good ole Google translate and spent a bit of time translating this totally authentic Kulich recipe. I was so excited! I could smell these sweet breads in my dreams! Lol!
But wait a minute…is this recipe for real? What stumped me is that it called for 20 egg yolk pieces. Yes, you did not read wrong. 20! 20!!! Pieces? Does that mean 20 eggs?
That confused me. In fact, quite a bit of the recipe seemed a bit unclear. After doing some further research, it looked like to me that yes, “20 pieces” of egg yolks, meant 20 egg yolks. I went back and forth for a few days trying to decide whether or not to even try this recipe. But in the end, I decided, “Let’s go for it!”
Here We Go!
Choose Which Size Mold You Want To Use
The first thing to do is decide on what size mold you would like. I had some Individual Panettone Molds that I knew I wanted to use. I also wanted to try something a bit taller, so I ordered a couple of Fat Daddio’s 3 x 3 Cake Pans from Amazon. If you would like to use a larger option, these Easter Bread Mold 5.1 x 3.35. are perfect!
Pre-Soak Your Raisins or Cranberries
The next thing you will need to do is decide whether you would want to use Raisins or Cranberries, and soak them. I choose Cranberries! I Love cranberries, so that was pretty easy for me!To soak them, you can use water, orange juice, fruit juice, rum, brandy or even whiskey or other alcohols of choice.
I used Amaretto, and it was really good! The alcohol taste is not there, it is just a wonderful flavor.
You can soak these up to 2 weeks in advance, or for to 2 to 3 hours. It’s your choice. I didn’t have time for the 2 weeks, since I was chomp’in at the bit to make them, so I soaked my cranberries for about 3 hours.
1. Make The Yeast Dough
On bake day, the first thing to do is make the “Yeast Dough” as I call it. The Russian recipe called it Sour Dough, and maybe that’s what it is. But, I wanted to make sure there was no confusion, so for the sake of easy, I named it Yeast Dough. This is just warm milk, Active Yeast and flour.
Let this rise in a warm spot while you prepare all of the other ingredients. It will take approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours to double in size.
2. Prepare All Of The Other Ingredients
Now start preparing all of the other ingredients. You will need everything to be ready to go once you start mixing things together.
Melt The Butter and Double Sift The Flour
Melt the butter, so it’s ready, then double sift the rest of the flour that the recipe calls for, and add the salt to it.
Easily Separate Out the Egg Yolks
To separate the room temp egg yolks super easy and fast, I carefully cracked about half of my eggs into a bowl with a colander. Then I used a slotted spoon and carefully dipped out the egg yolks. I used half of an egg shell to help with this. (Not sure I really needed the colander, but I used it anyway).
Once the first half of the eggs were separated, I continued with the other half. If you break a yolk, no problem, just leave it with the whites, and use another egg to get the yolk you need.
Chop The White Chocolate
Next, chop your chocolate. If you are using White Chocolate Chips, just measure them out.
Prepare The Cranberries
Now it’s time to drain your cranberries, dry them and cover them in flour.
Make the Kulich Dough
Now everything is ready and it’s time to make the Kulich dough! Yay!
In a large bowl, mix the egg yolks and sugar together with a mixer. Don’t do this early and let the sugar/egg yolk mix sit, because the sugar can burn the eggs.
Only do it once the Yeast Dough has doubled in size and you are ready to proceed with adding the rest of the ingredients.
Now whisk in the melted butter and the risen Yeast Dough.
Add the flour mixture in a third at a time, mixing lightly after each addition.
Add the cranberries and chocolate. Mix as much as you can with a spoon, then switch to your hand and just bring it together. No need to knead.
Cover with a damp towel and let it rise to double in size in a warm spot. To speed rising I preheat my oven to 100 degrees F, and then turn it off. I wait a couple of minutes then put the bowl in the warm oven to rise. Takes approximately 2 hours.
Prepare Baking Molds
While the dough is rising, prepare your molds. I did not spray my panettone molds because the Russian recipe said I didn’t need to, however I had a tiny bit of sticking just on the bottoms, so next time I will probably lightly spray the bottoms.
For the cake pans, I brushed them with butter, then covered the bottom and sides with parchment paper. This worked beautifully!
Fill The Molds With Dough
It’s now time to fill the molds with dough. Punch the dough down with your hand. Once it’s down, pinch off the amount you need to fill each mold halfway to three-fourths full. I stretch the dough then tuck it in at the bottom so that the top is even.
This recipe gave me 22 individual Kuliches. If you use a larger mold, I’m not sure how many it will make, since I haven’t tried that yet. Set them in a warm place to rise. It will take about 30-40 minutes. The dough should rise to the top.
Make Egg Wash & Brush Tops of Risen Kulich
Combine one egg with 1 tsp – 1 Tbsp of water. Whisk together. Once the Kulich has risen, brush the egg wash over the top of each bread.
Bake The Kulich
Time to bake the Kulich! Yay! Bake the Kulich breads in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven until the middles register 190 degrees on a thermometer.
If you don’t have a cooking thermometer, I can’t tell you how amazing they are! I use mine SO MUCH! This is perfect for just sticking it in the bread to make sure they are just right. Not undercooked, and not overcooked. I have this Cooking Thermometer from Amazon, and LOVE IT!
For the small molds, bake on an uncrowded cookie sheet. If the cookie sheet is too crowded, they will not bake evenly. Make sure there is space around each so the color of the bread and the bake is even. (I baked 6 at a time and it took approx 15 minutes).
For larger molds, it can take up to 35 – 45 minutes. If the top begins to burn, cover the breads with foil. Again, the breads are done when they register 190 degrees in the middles on a food thermometer.
By this time, your house will smell like heaven! You can eat them like this, or add icing and sprinkles! The recipe says to ice them when they are warm, but I didn’t do that.
I used my Royal Icing recipe and added a bit of water to get it to the consistency I wanted, then placed it in a piping bag and added it to the breads. You can find my Royal Icing Recipe Here!
Time to Enjoy!
They are done! YAY! Whether you decide to ice them or not, they are amazing!!
My husband and I weren’t sure how these would come out the first time I made them, and we were blown away at how good they were! We could NOT stop eating them!
They are just so soft and taste amazing! The flavors of the cranberries and the white chocolate mixed with the sweetness of the bread…oh I wish I had one right now!!!
Once they are over a day old, and you still desire the warm bread, just pop one into the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds, and they are just like coming out of a warm oven. They are delicious cold as well!
I hope you have enjoyed our journey together with the beautiful Kulich Easter bread, and the history and traditions behind it! I am so thankful to have found it, and I have loved learning about the traditions of the beautiful people in Eastern Europe!
God Bless!
Teesa
Russian Easter Bread (Kulich)
Equipment
- Panettone Baking Molds I used Panettone Baking Molds 2-3/4" x 2” or 3 x 3 cake pans.
- Hand or Stand Mixer
- Food Thermometer
Ingredients
Yeast Flour Mixture
- 11 g Active Yeast
- 200 ml Milk
- 130 g AP Flour
Kulich Bread Dough
- 185 g Butter Melted
- 780 g AP Flour Sifted 2 Times
- 1 tsp Salt
- 20 Lrg Egg Yolks – This is not a typo. 20 is the right number. 🙂 Room Temp
- 180 g Sugar
- 200 g Dried Cranberries or Raisins
- 200 g White Chocolate Bar or Chips
- 1 Egg For Egg Wash
Instructions
Soak Dried Cranberries up to 2 hours – 2 weeks Before Making Dough
- Soak dried cranberries in liquid of choice. You can use water, orange juice, fruit juice, rum, brandy or even whiskey or other alcohols of choice. I used Amaretto, and it was really good! The alcohol taste is not there, it is just a wonderful flavor. I soaked mine for about 3 hours before I made my dough, but some soak up to 2 weeks. The longer they soak, the more flavor they will have. Put dried cranberries or raisins in a bowl, then cover with liquid. Cover bowl until using. To store overnight or longer, store in fridge. Bring to room temp before using.
Yeast Dough
- Warm milk to between 80℉ – 90℉, then add in yeast and 130g of flour. Whisk together and set in a warm place to rise. Depending on temperature of where it rises, can take approx and hour or so.
Prepare Other Ingredients
- Melt the butter in the microwave and set aside.
- Sift the 780 grams of flour twice. Add salt, whisk together and set aside.
- Separate the 20 yolks from the egg whites and set aside.
- Drain cranberries and dry. Cover with 1 to 1.5 T of flour. Stir to cover and set aside.
Make Kulich Dough
- Once the Yeast Dough has doubled in size, then proceed with mixing the Kulich dough. In a large bowl, mix the egg yolks and sugar together with a mixer. Don’t do this early and let the sugar/egg yolk mix sit, because the sugar can burn the eggs. Only do it once the Yeast Dough has doubled in size and you are ready to proceed with adding the rest of the ingredients.
- Add the melted butter to the egg yolk/sugar mixture, and whisk together, then add the Yeast Dough. Whisk to combine.
- Add in the flour mixture in thirds. Stir until just combined, then add cranberries and white chocolate. Don't over mix.
- Using your hand, pull the dough together. Cover with a damp towel and put in a warm place to rise for approximately 2 hours. Needs to double in size.
Prepare Baking Molds
- Prepare panettone molds or cake tins with deep sides. I used small panettone molds and 3 x 3 cake tins, because I wanted to try both, however you can use the size of your choice. I did not spray my panettone molds, but I will try it next time. For cake tins, brush with butter then line bottom and sides with parchment paper.
- Once dough has doubled, punch down. Then pull apart with hands and fill each mold to ½ – ¾ full. Stretch the dough to the bottom to make the tops are as smooth as possible.
- Place in a warm spot and let rise until doubled. Takes approximately an hour or so.
- Make Egg Wash. Combine egg with 1 tsp – 1 Tbsp of water.
- Once final rise is ready, brush egg wash over the top of each bread.
Bake
- Bake on an uncrowded cookie sheet. If the cookie sheet is too crowded, they will not bake evenly. Make sure there is space around each so the color of the bread and the bake is even. Bake until inside is 190℉. (I baked 6 at a time and it took approx 15 minutes)
- Remove the breads from the oven and put on it’s side and leave it in this position until the bottom cools down. (I actually for got to do this, but it’s in the original recipe).
Video
Notes
- I used small panettone molds and 3 x 3 cake tins. I wanted to try both of the sizes, however you can use the size of your choice. I did not spray my panettone molds, but I will try it next time. For cake tins, brush with butter then line bottom and sides with parchment paper. The cake tins made taller breads. Some use empty tin cans, like the kind canned veggies come in. I have not tried that.
- To speed rising I preheat my oven to 100 degrees F, and then turn it off. I wait a couple of minutes then put in the warm oven to rise.
- Bake on an uncrowded cookie sheet. If the cookie sheet is too crowded, they will not bake evenly. Make sure there is space around each so the color of the bread and the bake is even. I baked 6 at a time and it took approx 15 minutes.
- Once completely cooled, store in a bag or container with as little air as possible.
What an amazing bread. Love the story and history behind this wonderful bread. Thank you for all the hard work behind the scenes, and for sharing such a delightful recipe and the history.
Thank you so much Lorraine! I love the history and recipe myself! I hope you get to try it out! 🥰